A Sight For Sore Eyes
by KingOfTheRock
Summary: Sokka temporarily loses his eyesight. Luckily for him, Toph's there to teach him everything she knows.
1. Prologue

Once they realized their food supply contains two nuts and a leechy bar, Aang and his loyal friends were off to the market in Akindo city. As they passed a fish stand, most of the gang-members plugged their noses in disgust, but Sokka was drawn to the stand as if by a magnet.

"Look, Katara, they have shell-trouts!" he said, eyes wide with delight.

"What's a shell-trout?" asked Aang, his face twitching. Sokka didn't notice, too excited about his find.

"Dad managed to catch one of these and Mom cooked it for us, remember? It was the best-tasting fish I ever had in my entire life …"

"I remember." Katara smiled. "And I think I can cook it for all of us. But don't worry, Aang, we'll find something delicious for you, too."

Aang smiled broadly.

Sokka held the fish by its stomach and brought it closer to his face, so they had eye-contact. He said in an educated voice, "The key to evaluating the quality of the fish is in its face. By the glassiness of the eyes, it's possible to – " Suddenly, a black ink-like liquid burst from the fish's mouth. Sokka let go of the fish in alarm and frantically wiped his face with his other hand.

"What was that?" he demanded, shock visible on the parts of his face not stained black .

Aang and Katara tried to stifle their laughter out of kindness, but Toph just burst out laughing. "The fish must be alive. I bet the fish-merchant preserves them somehow."

The merchant stopped stacking fish as he noticed Sokka. "Oh, I see you have a good eye."

"Not anymore," Sokka mumbled bitterly.

"Would you like to use it for medicinal, ceremonial or decorative purposes?" the man continued.

"We were going to _eat it_." Sokka explained this as if he were talking to a child, surprised the merchant didn't just take that for granted. The merchant was equally stunned.

"You wanted to _eat_ a poisonous bass?"

"Poisonous bass? Isn't that a shell-trout?"

"Of course not!" The merchant indicated the fish's fin. "The poisonous bass has two blue stripes around this area, while the shell-trout only has one. See?"

"No," said Sokka, squinting his eyes to no avail.

"Oh, than it's already taking effect," said the merchant casually, noticing the patches of ink still on Sokka's face.

"What is?"

"The bass's venom usually causes temporary blindness if it gets into the eyes. There shouldn't be any permanent damage, but by the amount you got hit with I'd say you'll be blind about a week."

"_**What?!**_" _Flump!_

"Better be more careful next time," advised the merchant, and resumed his duties, leaving Sokka laying on the floor, twitching.


	2. Chapter 1

Katara opened her canteen, bended some water out of it and placed it on Sokka's eyes. "Does this help?"

"I don't think so," he said gloomily. "You're getting all blurry."

"Maybe it's something that goes away by itself, like a cold," Aang suggested.

"You're comparing _this _to a cold?!"

"With all due respect to your future blindness, Sokka, I'm still hungry," said Toph, gripping her stomach.

"We can split up. Toph and I will go get some food and you and Aang can go back to camp," Katara said maternally. "I don't think it's a good idea for you to stay here."

"Yeah, we wouldn't want you bumping into people," Toph teased.

"Fine," Sokka grumbled unwillingly. "Let's go, Aang."

***

As they came into the forest, Aang decided he should try to reassure his friend.

"I'm sure you can pull through this, Sokka. How are you feeling so far?"

"Hungry. And I can't see leaves anymore, just green blobs up there … or at least I think it's green … "

"It's green," Aang confirmed.

"So there's still hope," said Sokka sarcastically, just before he tripped over a large rock.

"So … you didn't see that rock, huh?"

"No, Aang, I did not."

***

Toph and Katara came back to camp loaded with groceries. Sokka sniffed the air. "You got meat!" he cried, his half-focused eyes lighting up. Katara smiled.

"I thought we could compensate the loss of your sense of vision with your sense of taste."

"You're the best sister ever!" Sokka tried to hug Katara, but missed and hugged the air instead. As he realized it he began to yell, "I can't see! I can't see!"

"You poor thing." Toph wryly rolled her own blank eyes.

***

A few hours later, Sokka had already found every possible way to trip and fall. Toph found this hilarious.

"You're the worst blind man I've ever seen!"

"Very funny," Sokka sulked, massaging his sore foot.

"Maybe we should stay here for the week, until you get better," suggested Katara. "That way you can get to know the terrain."

"No way. With the Fire Nation on our tail, we have to keep going."

"We can afford one week," said Aang.

"No. We're leaving tomorrow and that's final," said Sokka determinedly

"And what do you plan to do in the meantime? Bump into every tree you come across?" asked Toph.

"Well … I was thinking … maybe you could teach me?"

"Are you _actually _asking me for a favor?"

Sokka's insides squirmed uncomfortably at her tone, but he didn't take it back.

"Yes, Toph. I need your help. I need you to teach me how to see."

"OK," said Toph cheerfully. She stomped and Sokka was flung out of his seat to fall flat on his face.

"Thanks, Toph." His voice was muffled, since his face was pressed into the dirt, but Toph could hear him.

"We start tomorrow. For now, you can have this," she said, and threw a long, dull stick at Sokka, which hit him on the head.

"My staff!" Aang protested.

"You'll have to do without it for a while, Twinkletoes."


	3. Chapter 2

DAY 2

After travelling a few miles on Appa and settling into their new camp sight, Sokka approached Toph for the first lesson of how to be blind.

"I'm all set!" he announced, trying to hide his nervousness at the great challenge he was facing.

"Good. Now, I know you're not an earthbender, but that doesn't mean you can't feel vibrations. Try and connect to the earth. Let it guide you."

"Okay, I'm … trying … "

"Tell me when you've got it." Toph plopped down on a rock and began peeling a mango.

Sokka closed his eyes and concentrated on how the ground felt through his boots, but soon his thoughts wandered … to food … Suki – _earth_, he had to focus on the _earth_ … then food again. His teacher's chewing sounds weren't helping.

"I can't do it."

Toph shoved the last piece of the mango into her mouth and said, through the half-chewed fruit, "Just try to follow _that _line."

She stomped, bending an elevated path of earth. Once he figured out where it was, Sokka edged along it as if he were walking on eggshells.

"Not like that! Walk with confidence. You have your training wheels on, so use them. Feel the course!"

Sokka probed around the path with his foot and found that it was almost as broad across as Appa's back. He started walking more steadily – until he stumbled over a bulging rock and fell flat onto his face.

"What did you do that for?" he asked bitterly, rubbing his nose.

"So you won't put too much trust in me! You have to trust _yourself_. Don't rely so much on the person who's leading you. Be independent. Don't walk on eggshells; move with confidence. Walking isn't all that complicated, Sokka. Just keep putting one leg in front of the other."

Sokka took a deep breath. He removed his shoes, stood back up, and took his first step, placing his heel cautiously on the ground. When he didn't fall, he took another step, then a third, and finally started increasing his pace.

"You're doing it, Sokka!" Katara said cheerfully, making him jump.

"Katara! You're here? I thought you and Aang were practicing your waterbending!"

"I'm here, too," said Aang. Sokka rounded on where he was fairly sure Toph was.

"You told me we were alone!"

"Thanks a lot, Sugar-Queen," Toph muttered. "That brings us to our second lesson. You need to sharpen your senses, not just your hearing. You need to know if someone's there. _Feel _their steps."

"And how do I do that?"

"By committing to earth, Snozzles."

"But I _can't _commit to earth, I'm not an earthbender!"

"So what?" Toph shouted. "Being blind doesn't mean you need help and guidance all the time! You don't have to be vulnerable! You're supposed to be aware of everyone around you, whether it's a person or a butterfly!" She reached for a seemingly random spot in the air and curled her hand into a quick, loose fist. As she opened it again, a butterfly emerged from between her fingers.

"How did you do that?" Aang whispered with awe.

"Do what? Do what?"

"I heard its wings. Felt the breeze it created."

"What'd she do?"

"She caught a butterfly," said Katara, amazed.

Sokka sat down in despair. "Maybe I just need to invent some tricks to help me."

"Get over yourself already!"

"But _I _can't hear the air, or gentle breezes, or - "

"Boomerang!" said Katara.

"Yeah, that too."

"No, throw it," she said. "You know Boomerang so well, I'm sure you can catch it even without seeing it!"

Sokka shrugged his shoulders and got up, his hand reaching for Boomerang smoothly, drawing it from the sheathe on his back and throwing it in a way that felt as natural as breathing. The familiar swooshing sound faded almost into silence. He waited a few seconds – the sound grew louder – Sokka _knew_. He reached up, catching the returning weapon with perfect timing.

"Now do you understand?" asked Toph.

"I do," said Sokka, feeling as enlightened as if the universe has revealed its deepest secrets to him. "I knew when it was coming by the sound it made, just like I know Momo is on a tree behind me – I can hear him cracking pine cones."

"Exactly!" said Toph enthusiastically, before returning to her customary nonchalance. "And now, Pupil, you have earned lunch."


	4. Chapter 3

By his third day of blindness, Sokka was walking around without falling or tripping, he could identify the objects around him, and Toph's mentoring had made him feel completely secure.

"I think you're ready to go to town!" Toph announced, triumph in her voice.

"What for?" demanded Sokka with horror.

"For fun, of course. We can go on a little trip, just us blind people."

"Are you sure that's such a good idea?"

"Nothing bad can happen to you while I'm around," Toph assured him. She would regret saying that so confidently later.

**

By the force of habit, the first place they went to in the city was the market.

"I think we're near the fish stand, Sokka. Want us to look for some shell-trout?"

"Want me to buy you a pair of glasses?" he shot back, subconsciously rubbing his eyes.

Suddenly he felt Toph's hand on his. A jolt ran through him and he felt himself blushing, along with a sense of deep gratitude Toph couldn't see it. She guided his hand onto … something.

"Recognize it," she said authoritatively.

Sokka felt the mystery object. It was round, smooth, and not very hard to identify.

"It's … a ball?"

"That's right!" He could hear the smile in her voice. "Now throw it to me."

"Did you even pay for this?" (Given he hadn't heard her talking to any merchants he felt it was a fair question.)

"Oh, I'm so sorry, _Katara_, let me get my wallet. Just throw it."

They successfully passed the ball around several times, over the heads of unsuspecting market visitors. Toph started to walk away from him to increase the challenge. It went smoothly until Toph threw the ball too hard. Sokka missed it, causing it to hit a statue, which knocked the statue over, starting a chain reaction that Sokka was glad he couldn't see.

Stands were collapsing left and right, and people were shouting everywhere. Over the commotion, Sokka could distinctly hear a wail of _"MY CABBAGES!" _He didn't need Toph's perception training to know that every single person in the market was staring at him.

"Toph."

"Yes?"

"D'you think we should run?"

"Yup." She took his hand once more, leading him throughout the market. He desperately hoped it would end well. The voices were fading from his ears, and he sighed in relief when a bizarre craving for cabbage faded from his mind as well.

"That was close," Toph said, her breath still rapid.

"Yeah … it's a good thing your earthbending is better than your passes."

"You're the one who missed!"

"Sure, it's my fault. I should have caught a ball that was thrown at the speed of light!"

"Maybe if you were more capable you could have," she replied in anger. Sokka felt as if she just punched him in the gut.

He lowered his voice and changed the subject. "We didn't even buy food. I'm starving."

**

After getting back to camp and sitting through Katara's lecture (" … and without even saying anything! What if the Fire Nation was – ") Sokka felt incredibly depressed. According to the fish merchant, he still had four more days of blindness to look forward to. How could he survive that long if he couldn't even play a simple game of catch?

"Hey, Sokka."

"Aang. How'd you know where to find me?"

"Well … you're not very far from camp."

"Yeah … didn't want to get lost," he said, trying to make that sound less pathetic than it was.

"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself. Toph taught you a lot."

"I know. But you should have seen it – I mean, heard it – everything was collapsing all around me and there was nothing I could do."

"I know how you feel," said Aang – then changed his tone and offered cheerfully, "At least it's only temporary!"

"But it illustrates all the things I can't do. I'm a burden for all you. I can't contribute anything to the group, and now it's even worse than before."

Aang put a comforting hand on the blind boy's shoulder. "Don't say that, Sokka. It's not true."

"It is for me," he said, then got up and left, walking as far as he dared.


	5. Chapter 4

"Hey, Sokka. I see you're wallowing in self-pity." Toph sat down next to Sokka, who was staring aimlessly into space.

"You're as perceptive as ever."

They sat in silence for a minute.

"What was the first thing I taught you?" Toph asked.

"To … feel the earth?"

She punched him in the shoulder.

"The _very first _thing, Sokka."

"Not to wallow in self-pity," he said dully, like a child repeating a boring lesson they'd had to memorize.

"So just don't pity yourself. See how simple that is?"

"It's _not _that simple, Toph. I got used to not being able to control certain things, but this … this is just too much. What if the Fire Nation finds us again?"

"If they do, you can just sit back and let us do all the work, like always," said Toph impatiently.

"I do _not_!" he shot back resentfully.

"But you're _so_ vulnerable and helpless now, you don't stand a chance. In fact, you could evaporate just by _touching _them!"

"Hey! That's not true. I can do… stuff!"

"Oh yeah? Like what?" She raised one eyebrow, as if he could notice.

"I got my boomerang … and … and … I'll come up with something!"

"But they're _really_ good warriors, Sokka."

"So what? I can still … oh. I get it." He smiled, suddenly enlightened. "Nice move, Toph."

She smiled back, though she knew he couldn't notice that. _He_ still couldn't 'see' with vibrations as well as she could, after all.

"I've still got it." She punched Sokka in the arm again; in response, he shrieked like a little girl.

Sokka rubbed his sore arm, grumbling, "I just _love _the way you show affection."

As much as she tried to fight it, she blushed.


	6. Chapter 5

Aang was practicing his waterbending in the river while Sokka sat on the bank, his feet in the water, listening to the calming splashing sounds. The warrior battled himself for a few seconds, then said, "Aang, you have all sorts of Avatar-dreams, right?"

"I guess … I dream about something almost every night," Aang agreed, his face twitching as he tried a complicated maneuver.

"Do you think they mean anything?"

"I'm sure they do. Back in the Air Temple, I'd talk to Monk Gyatso about my dreams every morning. He helped me use them as a guiding tool for life."

"I rarely dream at all," Sokka admitted, then added slowly, "but I had one last night."

"What about?" Aang dropped the water current he was bending to better focus on his friend.

"Well, there was this girl – "

"Suki?"

"No."

"Yue?"

"No! She didn't have a face, okay? And I was in a giant canyon, except I couldn't see it. And I think it was nighttime, but I'm not sure. Anyway, she was really pretty, and she said something, like, _I can help you, Sokka, _but I walked right by her. Then I fell off a cliff. Do you think that means something?"

"Sokka …" said Aang, astonished.

"Aang?" Sokka returned with one eyebrow raised.

"I think you need to figure out what that means on your own." Aang resumed his waterbending.

"You're just saying that cause you don't know what it means," Sokka grumbled, crossing his arms.

"Even _Momo _knows what it means!" protested the Avatar, accidentally blasting a massive amount of water at Sokka, who screamed with surprise and fell in the river.

Sokka got up slowly and wiped his face with his wet sleeve. Hearing Momo chittering nearby, he turned to the lemur and asked, "Could you tell me?"


	7. Chapter 6

**Day 6**

Sokka, now mostly used to blindness, went berry-picking with Katara (after an exhausting speech on Sokka's capability to wander off alone). He hoped he'd manage to hunt _something_ – it's been _days _since he last ate meat.

Once they'd gathered a fair amount of berries, they headed back to camp, where Toph and Aang were practicing their earthbending. The ground always trembled when they did it, but this time it felt different. More vigorous, more frequent, more like an avalanche than an earthquake.

"Did you hear that?" he asked suddenly, freezing in place.

"Hear what?" asked Katara, eating a raspberry as quietly as she could.

"I think the Fire Nation's here." Sokka grabbed his boomerang without even noticing.

"Then we have to hurry! Come on!" She snatched his hand and led him back to camp at a run. In less than a minute Katara was having an intense fight with Mai.

Sokka stood still, took a deep breath and tried to locate everything around him. Azula and Aang fought to his left, according to the relentless thunder and shrieking winds. On his right were Katara and Mai, daggers stabbing into trees and water splashing all over. The sounds of rocks and earthquakes suddenly stopped, and he knew what had happened. A few seconds later he felt a light breeze on his face. _Ty-Lee_.

"Hey, Cutie!" she said. Sokka could hear her smiling. "Long time no see."

"I really missed you," he said monotonously, knowing what was coming. She'd always attack the same spots, but use different ways to do it. He defended his neck, shoulders and stomach fiercely, reacting according to what he thought she would do.

"Is there something wrong with your eyes?" she wondered, noticing his unfocused stare as she stood on her hands.

"Nah... I'm just fine." He smiled and darted forward as quickly as he could. Ty Lee jumped overhead and landed behind him. He ducked, boomerang still in his hand.

Under the commotion from all the elements surrounding him, Sokka could hear Momo a few meters away. He was on a pine tree, picking pine cones.

He threw his boomerang far away, and hoped for the best. Ty Lee shrugged and attacked him once more. He stepped backwards until he could hear Momo right above him.

"You've really improved," the acrobat said admiringly, the breezes from her attacks grazing his face.

"Uh... thanks," he mumbled, still listening to the air around him. As expected, there was Boomerang's swishing sound. Once he heard it hitting the branch above him he jumped sideways, laying flat on the ground.

Ty Lee quickly took his place, not knowing why he put himself in such a limiting position. The branch fell right on time, hitting her back and prompting a yelp of, "My chi!"

Sokka sighed with relief. The ruckus of Aang and Katara's battles had faded, replaced with Aang's familiar shout, "Everyone jump on Appa!". Sokka followed the voice and leaped, grabbing the sky-bison's fluffy fur.

"Are you OK?" he asked Toph, who was already in the saddle.

"Sure. But she took my bending away; now I _really_ can't see a thing."

"You were great out there, Sokka," Katara complimented, putting a warm hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks." He smiled widely. "I had a good teacher."


	8. Chapter 7

Day 7

Sokka woke up to Aang and Katara's voices, repressing grumpy thoughts about sleep. He sat up in his sleeping bag and rubbed his eyes. As he opened them, something seemed different – the usual blackness he'd grown used to was somewhat lighter, like the silver lining of a storm cloud.

"KATARA!" he shouted and got up quickly, forgetting the sleeping bag was still closed, and tumbling over. He fought his way loose, stood up clumsily and yelled again, "Katara! I think it's over!"

"What is?"

"My blindness! I think I'm starting to see again!"

"Sokka, that's great!" His sister ran to him and hugged him tight.

"I'm really happy for you, Sokka," said Aang in his usual cheery way.

"Good for you," Toph added sarcastically from behind him, and Sokka stopped his victory dance.

"Uh – I'm sorry, Toph," he said, scratching his head awkwardly.

"It's OK. You really sucked as a blind guy anyway."

" ... Thanks." Sokka decided to take that as a compliment and resumed his dancing.

A few hours later, Sokka's vision had improved drastically. Although Aang seemed like a blurry orange clump, the warrior could still recognize him, and he could see well enough to tell Toph wasn't near the camp. He wandered the woods for several minutes until he saw her unclear green figure, and suddenly remembered her face. Her light, smooth skin, delicate nose, a wide mouth perfect for wide smiles ... she were kinda pretty, when you thought about it.

_Pretty_... this word had been lost from his memory for the last week. Even if he thought he could manage without his sight, even if he won a battle – he yearned to see something pretty, to see it clear and sharp. Katara's smile, Aang's air-juggling, Toph's ... everything.

He approached her slowly and quietly.

"Sokka, I've known you were here for the last five minutes."

"Oh, right. Sorry." He sat down next to her. "Are you alright?"

"Sure," she said in her usual tough-Toph-voice. "Why do you ask?"

"Because you're sitting here by yourself. And also because I may have overdone it a little with my joy and – "

"Dance? Even I knew it was awful, and I couldn't even see it."

"Hey, I'm the best dancer in the Southern Water Tribe!"

"I'm happy for you, Sokka, I really am. It's not like I'm sulking or needy or something."

"I know. There's just something I wanted to say. You're so independant and resourceful ... after walking a little in your shoes I can see how hard it is. I learned to appriciate everything you do, Toph, and I still have no idea how you do it."

"I was born blind," she shrugged, "so I don't miss seeing the way you did. But I gotta say, you've managed it pretty well."

"I know," said Sokka proudly. "You really are a good teacher."

"I know."

They sat quietly for a moment. Sokka blinked a few times and noticed his vision was getting sharper – he could see Toph's hair band, her lips...

"Are you staring at me?" she asked, almost innocently.

"I – I just forgot how you looked. And now I know," he added quicky.

"You're lying," she declared.

Sokka hesitated for a few seconds, then decisively sat closer to Toph and kissed her, his hand on her cheek.

Toph's lips were drier than Suki's. She was a lot less feminine than Yue. _But that's the whole point, _thought Sokka, _she's not like the rest._

Toph, who was surprised at first, committed to the kiss and put her hand on his shoulders. Sokka could feel the same jolt he felt when she first put her hand on his.

The kiss lasted for less than a minute, which seemed like a lot more, during which Sokka didn't think about Shell-Trouts, the Fire Nation or his father. He could only think of _her_, the person who was becoming more clear to him by the second, in more ways than one.

Toph suddenly pulled back and stood on her feet, leaving Sokka confused and dazed, still leaning forward. One second later Aang bounded, smiling as usual, asking, "Aren't you guys coming? We're leaving soon."

The earthbending master rolled her eyes. "We're coming, Twinkletoes."

Sokka could swear she was giving him a secretive look.


	9. Epilogue

EPILOGUE

As the days passed, Sokka seemed to forget (or repress) his experiences as a blind man, and Toph knew why. He felt as if he was finally awake after a long dream, and wanted to return to his normal everyday life as soon as he could.

They never talked about their one kiss in the forest. It was rare for them to be alone at all, between Aang's training, Azula's attacks, and the search for Appa after the bison was stolen. Toph could feel Sokka growing a little bit further away from her with every second.

As a blind man, Sokka had depended on her, appreciated her. That was the reason for their special bond, when it felt like the two of them against the world. And now the moment was gone. He'd gone back to being the confident, wisecracking warrior he'd been before, and she'd gone back to being the tough, blind kid she always had been.

Sokka never stared at her again, or told her she was pretty, a compliment that had made her blush and giggle. The bubble had burst.

On their way to Ba Sing Se, when she first heard Suki's melodic voice, and sensed that Sokka's heartbeats were much faster than usual, she knew it was lost for good. Suki was a strong and independent warrior, too. But she wasn't blind, and neither was Sokka anymore.

Toph never showed any of her emotions, never let her friends hear the cracking sound in her heart whenever she felt Sokka was standing too close to Suki. She remained just the same as ever on the outside, nodding carelessly as Katara told her about her feelings for Aang, and denying when the waterbender asked her if she'd ever felt the same for someone.

After all, she had an image to maintain. She was a rock, and rocks don't break.

_**end**_


End file.
